The invention is concerned generally with a knee brace of a type adapted to support and prevent excess impact loading of an injured or weakened knee, and as well to protect a healthy knee from injury. More particularly, the invention relates to a lightweight knee brace formed from a non-elastomeric material which is cross-woven in continuous and moveable fibers from the upper to lower band of the knee brace; and may be expanded to permit positioning about the knee joint and then permitted to contract firmly to engage the wearer's knee upon extension of the knee brace by action of the wearer's foot.
Due to its delicate and complex construction, the knee joint and its associated cartilages, ligaments and tendons is susceptible to injury. One of the more common injuries incurred by those who participate in athletic activities such as skiing, skating, handball, football and the like is what is termed an over extension of the knee joint. With this particular injury, a blow to the lateral side of the joint when the individual's foot is stationary results in a twisting of the body which in turn tends to cause the upper and lower joint members to move relative to each other in a manner contrary to their normal movement upon flexing of the knee. If the twisting of relative movements occurs to a sufficient degree, severe strain is placed upon the ligaments, tendons and cartilages of the joint, resulting in serious and painful injury. It should be noted that the above-mentioned twisting movement of the body may result from a fall or other unorthodox movements and is not necessarily limited to a situation arising from a blow to the lateral side of the knee; however, in either case, there is a great deal of pain and the knee must be immobilized to permit healing, and if this is not possible or desirable, adequate support must be provided for the knee during use.
While the prior art consisted of braces that attempted to provide both adequate lateral support for the knee and protection for the kneecap, these were heavy and cumbersome. In most instances, the aforementioned braces employed uncomfortable leather straps and metal structure or framework which encircled the knee and of necessity often included a metal articulated joint; the entire arrangement being quite heavy and cumbersome. While these braces were effective with regard to the protection they afforded, their excessive weight or mass often hindered the performance of the wearer, and for this reason, often were not worn when they should have been, giving rise to the possibility of further and more serious injury to the knee joint.
On the other hand, another type of prior art brace which was less cumbersome, was constructed from a lightweight elastic fabric material. While these elastic fabric braces were comfortable and generally would not hinder the performance the wearer, they often failed to provide the requisite lateral support for the knee. Some of these were of a pants hose configuration with knee cap protection.
There were some prior art attempts to incorporate the advantages of both the elastic sleeve and the articulated metal framework; however the end result was a brace that was expensive, cumbersome, and afforded very little protection to the wearer's kneecap.
There were also prior art attempts to incorporate lightweight elastic sleeve-type braces with ribbed elastomeric material to provide protection for the kneecap. While these had afforded improved comfort, mobility, and protection; the wearer's performance was still hindered during certain movements of the legs when no protection or support of the knee joint was required. These braces also failed to provide support to the knee joint except from the immediate area of the leg adjacent to the knee joint. These braces were confining enough on the performance of the wearer as to be undesirable for the wearer with no knee problems to use.